Movable dam of ferroconcrete



0. SUMMER. MOVEABLE DAM 0F FERROCONCRETE. APPLICATION mfp JULY 1.1920.

Patented June 21, 1921.

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Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Jun@ 231i, 1921 Application led July l, .1.929. Serial No. 3935242.

To all whomz't may concern.' s Be it known that l, OTTO Sonnen, a citizen of the Republic of Switzerland, residing at Zurich, Switzerland, have invented c .certain new and useful improvements in Movable Dams of Ferroconcrcte; and do hereby declare the following to be a iulla clear, and exact description of the invention,

such as will enable others skilled in the art` to which it appertains te make and use the same, reference being hat` to the accompanying drawingsj and to letters er figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

rlhis invention has for its obiect 4a hollow dam of ferro-concrete pivotally supported by a fixed substructure and moved by water pressure.

Reference is to be made to the accompanying drawings7 forming part ci' this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic cross-section of the movable hollow dam, and Fig. 2 is a radial section thereof.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section showing a modified construction of one of the end chambers.

Fig. 4 is a cross section showing the internal chambers extending over the whole cross section of the dam.

Figs. 5J? are diagrammatic views illustrating the forming of an accurate curvature to the damming face.

Fig. 8, is a side view and Fig. 9 a cross view showing the manner of mounting the angle irons on the face of the dani.

The movable hollow dam consists oiI1 the circular arch-shaped breast-wall a, the straight roof and the partition walls c1, c2, c3, etc. At the crest (Z of the weir hollow spaces 7 are formed by the provision of walls c, said hollow spaces being' closed so as to be water-tight on all sides. rlhe partition walls el, c2, etc., thicken toward the lower end of the dam (see Fig. 2) and finally merge in a through-beam g, to which the axis of rotation 7L is secured. This axis is supported by a bearing z' also passing quite through the dam. The axis of rotation coincides with the center of the circular arch 1-2 or is adjacent thereto.

The whole of the hollow dam can be sunk into the weir chamber 7c. Instead of making the breast-joint Z water tight, a narrow gap may be lett, allowing a certain volume of water to enter the weir chamber.

.The size of the hollow spaces 7' is such that the 'buoyancy produced by them, conjointly with the water pressure acting upon the inner'suraceb raises the dam'ming body as soon as the water pressurereaches a certain degree. it the water pressure diminishes in the Weir chamber, .the damming body sinks owing to its weight and to the ,load which may result from water flowing over the damining body. rl`he water pressure in the weir chamber may be regulated by hand or' automatically in any well-known manner by sluices', slide-valves, siphons or the like.

rlille thickeningof the partition walls serves the following purposes:

l. The necessary cross-section is obtained for absorbing the radial forces or pressure. 2. The span of the roof Z) is reduced in the very place' where the water pressure is greatest in upright position. 3. The forces transmitted by the ribs c" to the shaft are distributed over a greater length, thereby reducing the surface pressure or enabling one to use smaller shaft diameters for a given surface pressure. The two extreme partition walls Ce may be arranged closer one to the other and connected by the walls m so as to form a girder resisting the outer water pressure (see F ig. 3).

The crest of the dam may be formed by a pipe d embedded in the concrete, and warm air may be led through said pipe so as to prevent ice from forming. In movable hollow dams ci smaller sizes the hollow spaces f required for raising the movable dam, can be made so large as to take up the whole of the cross-section of the movable portion. The damming body then assumes the form shown in ldig. 4. It forms a hollow body closed on all sides and receiving outer water pressure only. I

rlhe exact circular form of the breastsurface a may be obtained as follows (see Figs. 5 to 9) Round iron bars (l) are embedded in the concrete partition wallsV o, the projecting ends of said bars being threaded. These round iron bars carry angle irons (2) between double nuts 3. The angle irons are previously bent according to templets and adjusted by means of the nuts in such a way that their front edge lies exactly in the angle irons.

final surface of the ready floated sector. The exact position of these angle irons is cheeked by a gage made up of the bars Llr'with a cross-bar 5 Vand rotatable about the shaft k Which has been previously setin. Yl/Vherever itis necessary, the angle irons are Corrected by means of the double nuts 3, whereupon the plaster or cement is put on and smoothed afterward by a lath extending over tWo to half armillimeter can be attained.

The above described invention enables one to Yconstruct movable damming bodies of' f cross-section and having Walls of reinforced In this Way an exactness up" A crest.

concrete, a longitudinal partition Wall form-- ing a chamber at the dam crest, and transverse partition Walls thickening 'toward the axis of rotation.

A movable dam having a horizontal axis of rotation, said dam sector-shaped in cross-section and having Walls ofreinforced concrete, a 'longitudinal partition forming a chamber at the dam crest, and auxiliary vertical partitions subdividing said chamber into smaller chambers, and partitions eX- tending from said longitudinal partition and thickening toward the axis orn rotation.

l. A movable Vdam having a horizontal axis of rotation, said dam sector-shaped in cross sction and having Walls of reinforced concrete, and means for jheating theV dam 5. A movable dam having a horizontal axis orn rotation, said dam sector-shaped in cross-sectionand having Walls of reinforced `concrete and a heater pipe embedded in the concrete at the crest'of the darn. Y

ln testimony that l claim the foregoing as my invention, I have signedniy name.

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